Page 65 of Strictly Forbidden

Max just lifted his head, looking at me as if I’d lost a screw. I winked in return. The pup and I had a simpatico relationship that transcended time and the fact he now belonged to someone else. I could swear the dog was grinning as I passed. I took the stairs two at a time, marveling in the way she felt tossed over my shoulder. Natural. As if it was meant to be.

Ridiculous but the notion allowed me to smile. Huge.

I knew all the reasons why I should stay away, shoving my longings and feelings for the voluptuous woman aside but as with being naughty in Vegas, we had no one watching over us and no reason not to indulge. And what happened in my grandfather’s cabin would stay there. This wasn’t a relationship in the making. Once she learned of all the ugly details of my past, she’d run far away. But not now.

Right now, she was under my total control.

The grin remained plastered on my face as I headed for the room I’d decided was my own. I’d been a gentleman, rare these days, and placed her bags in the slightly larger master bedroom. They were all comfy, all three equipped with king-size beds, which was necessary given both my father and grandfather were as tall as I was, but the master had an adjoining bath.

Bath.

I’d never taken a bath with a woman let alone showered with her. Why I was thinking of all these crazy things was beyond me but when I stormed into the room, Noel started beating her hands against my back, even cursing under her breath.

“Asshole. Jerk. Bastard. Son of a bitch.”

My grin widened as I spun her around a few times, finally cracking my hand on her naked bottom as a reminder. Of what I wasn’t certain.

“Stop fighting me, sunshine.”

“You should know better by now that I have no sunshine in my body.”

For all she’d been through, her ability to joke and even laugh at herself was priceless. I tossed her onto the bed before turning on a single light. By the time I’d turned around, she was on all fours, growling at me that way I’d done with her. She truly thought she was a formidable woman. Well, in some ways she was, capable of disarming an entire army of men.

That’s another reason I wanted to keep her all to myself. She could entice a priest to do really bad things with her beguiling smile and nothing else.

But if you tossed her hourglass figure into the situation, or the way she could make her acts of defiance like sinful preludes, then any man would be lost. I’d yet to remove my jacket given my level of thirst. I did so hurriedly, tossing it aside, keeping watch on her as I unbuttoned my shirt. I’d already figured out she was a wicked little girl determined to break free of the darkness that had been spun around her.

She could very easily attempt to get away from me all over again.

Only this time, I’d have the advantage since I knew what she was made of.

Piss, vinegar, and the ability to seduce any man.

My patience waning, I ripped off the shirt, only then remembering I had a weapon stuck in my jeans.

As soon as I pulled it out, she rose onto her knees. I couldn’t quite tell if the expression she wore was fear, determination, or something else altogether. But in the few seconds as she stared at the Glock, I could tell she was trying to make the moment right in her mind.

I had no concept of right or wrong any longer, only the continued need for exacting revenge.

Still keeping my eyes on her, I ripped off my boots before fighting with my wet jeans to be able to unfasten them. But I did. Nothing was going to stop me from taking what I wanted. How quickly I’d turned into a bastard just like she’d accused me of being. I wanted to be a bad guy at this moment.

Granted, it was entirely different than what we were facing but I had to remind myself this was… not in our best interest.

Yet as soon as I was undressed, she lifted her head, exposing her long neck as she allowed the same heated gaze I’d given her to fall down the length of me. From the first moment we’d touched each other, the connection had been growing. Soon, it could be a tether we couldn’t break.

Was this all because of Max?

I didn’t know any longer.

As I rolled my open palms down my chest, she sat back on her haunches, finally looking away. She was as conflicted as she’d been before, fighting the darkness inside that I knew far too well. Now wasn’t the time to continue teasing her or to play a single game. I wanted her more comfortable here, easing the terrors.

I had no idea what came over me in those next few seconds when I noticed her lower lip was quivering. Suddenly, I didn’t want to be that bad guy. I wanted to be the man responsible for saving her from the anger and despair I’d been forced to endure. There were tragedies that couldn’t easily be gotten over, events that couldn’t be explained but they left a lifetime impression that altered hope and love, the ability to be with family and friends.

Just crawling on the bed felt as if I had a weight strapped to my back. I was already a man of few words but right now, there was nothing to be said. Nothing would matter or change things. The closeness and electricity we felt was powerful, yet I think we both knew this was just a respite, a moment of time that would ultimately fade into memories.

Maybe unwanted on her part.

I remained on my knees only inches away from her, the heat building between us incredible. I’d felt this level of closeness once before in my life and it had changed me. This time, it couldn’t. I knew exactly what would happen if I allowed it to alter anything other than the moment.

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